Who are we?

Knowtra has a range of skills to call upon - both in house and through its network of contacts. Key personnal in Knowtra are;

Dr Steve Spall

Steve gained his PhD from the University of Southampton, employing oceanic computer simulations to understand the impact of ocean currents on plankton. He subsequently spent 6 years as a researcher in the Hadley Centre, the climate change arm of the Met Office. In this time he investigated complex feedbacks between ocean biology and climate, and was a co-author on a paper in the prestigious journal Nature.

Having been promoted to the level of scientific team leader, he spent several years leading a multi-million pound programme of environmental research for the Ministry of Defence. On returning to the Met Office, he managed a DTI funded project enhancing user engagement with the National Centre for Ocean Forecasting.

Taking his diverse experience of ocean, weather and climate science, coupled with an understanding of the needs of end users of science, he established Knowtra in 2007.

Steve is currently working towards an MBA.

Mark Hannam

Mark has worked at a number of companies managing and consulting upon high profile projects. These companies include Metoc, Risk Management Consultants, ABP Marine, Fugro GEOS, South West Water and Wimpey Environmental. Mark has a long track record of engaging with end users of environmental information, and has been Marine and International Projects manager at the Met Office.

Mark is acting for Knowtra in both a business development role, and bringing his own wide technical experience. This experience includes environmental aspects of engineering projects, weather sensitivity of oil and gas operations, risk management techniques, coastal zone management and the needs of ports & maritime transport. These skills greatly enhance the consulting capabilities of Knowtra.

Mark is a director of the Marine Information Alliance, an advocacy group for exploiting marine information.

Our philosophy

Knowtra's philosophy is:

• Deliver solutions for the client, not just standard products
• Use the latest IT to enhance the client experience and efficiently deliver to the client's budget
• Offer 'fit for purpose' solutions for the client, without unnecessary and costly 'over engineering'

• Work closely with the client to ensure they get the maximum benefit from engaging Knowtra

• Make use of a network of associates to augment the Knowtra skill set when needed